Something new for me was going to Berlin – it was still East/West Germany in the 1980’s and the Berlin Wall was still dividing the city.

Big difference between the two – lots of construction all over the former eastern Berlin as Germany try to rebuild its infrastructure.

Some observations:- Lots of scooters and bicycles in the former East Berlin- Low cost of rents – avgs 250-300 Euros/month- Average income = 30K Euros/year (not month)- Narrow cobbled streets – quaint – not as “westernized” as the former West Berlin- Berlin 63Billion Euros in debt- Buildings and monuments not as ancient as other European cities – lots of buildings built late 19th and early 20th century but built to look “old”

Having written a doctoral paper on Comparative Government, specifically on the German political structure, it was interesting to see the current Reichstag/Bundestag building in the nation's capital.

The German Reichstag_Bundestag building, the equivalent of the US Capitol

I was last in Italy in 1984 – quite the same (of course) except more crowded – or is this just my impression? It was exhausting; not orderly and clean as Germany.

And yes, Italian men had no qualms about staring, admiring, and letting you know they think you’re “bellisima” – at least German men had the grace to be a bit subtle and look away when you catch them staring.

Romeobservations:- Saw the Pope – he held mass for the religious pilgrims who came from all over the world for the canonizations of 4 Saints- Mother Marie Eugenie, Foundress of my convent school was canonized as a Saint. She was French – mother house is in France- Everybody and their cousins were there – so crowded- Saw all the tourist traps – St Peter’s Basilica, Cupola, St John Lateran Church, Santa Maggiore, Sacre Crux, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Holy Steps, San Callisto Catacombs, Pantheon, etc…- Everybody and their cousins were there – so crowded- Even Philippine President Gloria Macapagal was there – she was a graduate of my convent school in the Philippines- An American who graduated in the USA branch of the school was Princess Grace of Monaco

- As the hubby said, "I've never seen a roomful of more stuck-up women in my life than these women!"

- What can I say? He looked at me and said "I guess you've mellowed out over the years and more Americanized, thank goodness!"

- But if the alumnae were mostly wives/daughters/sisters of Secretary of this-and-that and whose families owned this-and-that banks - what did you expect?- Got a “Papal Blessing” certificate – or rather I bought one- Rome sits on its past laurels – tourism is the life blood of the city- Everybody and their cousins were there – so crowded – did I say this enough?- Saving grace: got me some Hermes goodies - Vendors hawked fake purses in full light of day – I thought this is illegal? Even NYC vendors try to do this discreetly but Italian vendors were blatant

Rome from high atop the Vatican Cupola (a 400+ steps hike)

Naples – Pompeiobservations:- Naples is nothing more than a seaport town with ancient buildings- Historical importance for sea-faring ancient Italians- Used to be riddled and encumbered by so called Italian mafia – or so I heard- Naples has been cleaned up as far as graft and corruption – or so I heard- A number of huge cruise ships were docked in Naples – must be a popular stop for Mediterranean cruises- Pompei was my favorite- Town buried in 79 AD after eruption of Mt Vesuvius- I love history so to actually touch and feel and see where ancient chariots used to traverse was awesome- Original marble floors, stone “streets” and mosaics intact – how awesome - Pompei had a brothel area- They used a phallus symbol as a directional arrow to point the location of the brothel :)

- They had mosaics & murals showing various sexual positions – must preceed the kama sutra I would think- Having lunch and good a bottle of wine with a light breeze and birds chirping was the way to go

Pompei

For those morbidly curious - a plaster cast of the Mt Vesuvius eruption - actual skeletons inside the plaster cast

Naples ocean view

Florenceobservations:- Another tourist trap of a city but not as badly crowded as Rome- Limit on tourist buses that can go into the city- Easier to shop for Italian leather- Yes, the old Firenze (Florence) was interesting and loving history, it was well, interesting- After all Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci are buried here- Museum of Academy has great works – caveat: Michaelangelo’s David you see there is not, I repeat not, the original David – this is a copy- Go to Florence just for bragging rights

- Bought a jar of hot & spicy olive oil and a jar of truffles but were confiscated at the airport! I forgot I can't hand carry liquid over 3ml! (But the truffle jar was not liquid! grrr)- Tuscany countryside – now that is something different.- Next time I go to Italy I think I’ll spend a week just chilling out and enjoy the Tuscan countryside – after all it has my favorite architecture – Tuscan farm houses!